Troublemaker
by Jesserfly
Summary: A chance encounter between Spider-Man and a girl he saves results in many, many more encounters. But really, who gets into that much trouble? Picks up after The Amazing Spider-Man. Requested third chapter coming soon!
1. Chapter 1

There was something about Spider-Man that was beautiful. For a girl who was so terrified of spiders that she shrieked at the mere sight of them, seeing Spider-Man leap from building to building with his web was oddly... breathtaking. No, never would she have imagined that anything possibly or closely related to a spider could be so marvelous, until she'd actually come into contact with the masked hero.

It was a late, foggy night and the girl was home alone after having made a stop at the nearby supermarket for... necessary feminine hygiene products. In retrospect, she should have known better than to go out so late and on such a night, but, well, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. And that was how she found herself trapped by a hooded figure with a knife pointed at her.

"Give me your money, bitch, and no one has to get hurt!" The man rasped out at her, anxious and angry. "Now!"

The girl nodded and reached into her bag for her leftover change, only to realize she'd spent all but a few cents in the mart. Panicked, she stuttered, "I-I've only got a couple coins."

The hooded man made an irritable sound and moved closer to her, waving the knife in a threatening manner. "Don't fuck with me! What's in the bag? Give it to me!"

"I-it's just-" But before she could finish her sentence, another voice interrupted her.

"Really? It's like the middle of the night and you're going after a teenage girl with a small supermarket bag for cash? Where's your common sense?" The girl and her attacker both turned in the direction of the new voice, seeing the lean figure in the flashy spandex. She remembered seeing clips of the vigilante in the news and on the internet, but she'd never really paid much attention to him. She never was the sort of person to follow hypes and trends; she had better things to do. But suddenly, that didn't matter, because he was bounding forward and knocking her attacker to the ground.

Although she had the opportunity to run, her legs refused to move against her better judgement. Instead, she found herself snatching up the knife that had clattered from the mugger's hand during the vigilante's assault. She watched as her attacker was subdued and restrained to the wall with what looked like web shots. Although she couldn't see his face, there was something about his body language that made him seem so terribly... crestfallen. He wasn't cracking anymore jokes, but instead was muttering to himself about a missing star tattoo. With a heavy sigh, he turned around and faced her, slowly and cautiously approaching.

"Hey, it's okay, you can put the knife down." It was only when he said it that she realized she was wielding the mugger's knife to protect herself. She nodded slowly and dropped both the knife and her shopping bag, shaking in distress from the situation. He stepped a little closer to her, holding his hands out to prove that he wasn't a threat.

"W-who are you?" The girl managed to choke out as he set his hands on her shoulder, trying to soothe her.

"I'm Spider-Man," he answered, and she could almost hear the grin in his voice. "Are you okay?" She nodded in response and, in fact, could even feel herself growing calm. "He didn't hurt you?" A shake of her head this time. "Good." He actually seemed relieved that she was okay.

Spider-Man reached down to pick up her bag and extended his free hand to her. "Let me help you home." The girl looked up at him and nodded, placing her shaking hand in his and giving him her address. "We'll go the fun way." He chuckled and pulled her into his arms, shooting a web from his wrist and lifting them both into the air.

No, she never was one to follow hypes and trends, but before she knew it, she was falling for the spandex-wearing super hero. And if she happened to find herself in dangerous situations in an attempt to meet with him again, well...

He was just amazing enough to be worth it.


	2. Chapter 2

The first time Peter Parker met her, he was patrolling the city as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, searching for his uncle's killer. Although the mugger he apprehended was not, in fact, who he was looking for, it seemed that he'd stumbled upon a different discovery: A frightened girl in need of help. He did what he could and protected her from the mugger, then helped her home with her shopping bag. After he dropped her off at her house, Peter felt pleased with himself. It wasn't everyday he could save a cute girl. Granted, there were more romantic ways to meet a girl, but this was just his life.

* * *

The second time, Peter saw her in school. How was it that he hadn't noticed her before? Perhaps it was because he'd always been too focused on Gwen Stacy. Perhaps it was because she'd been hidden in the back of the class, scribbling away on a sheet of paper. It wasn't until after the death of Captain George Stacy and his promise to the older man to leave his daughter alone that he finally had another chance to speak with the girl.

"...and I'll be pairing up the class for lab partners," finished his teacher, following a long explanation of the lab. The teacher held out a bowl of numbered slips and Peter watched as each student took one and coupled up with their match. He stared down at his own slip of paper, then looked around the room, only to catch the eyes of the girl he'd saved as Spider-Man. She gave him a little wave from the back of the class and turned her slip of paper to show him the number. Seeing that it matched his own, Peter approached her with a small smile.

"Hi," he greeted as he took the seat beside her. She flushed and tried to stow away the picture she'd been doodling, but he managed to get a good glimpse of it first. With a laugh, Peter added, "You a fan of Spider-Man?"

The girl nodded in response, but looked a little embarrassed. "He saved my life once," she explained, looking down at her lap with a blissful expression and a wistful sigh. "But I haven't been able to see him since then."

"So you don't think he's a "webbed menace", then?"

She shook her head with an amused laugh. "Of course not! He's obviously a hero."

Peter grinned at her and she grinned back, and for a moment, Peter thought he might like to kiss her. Instead he cleared his throat, and she averted her eyes, flustered. "So about this lab..."

* * *

From that point on, the two were more aware of each other, and they tended to spend time together inside and outside of class. Their conversations were fumbled and awkward at first, but as they spent more time together, they became more comfortable around each other to speak normally. Peter helped her out when she had troubles with school work, and when he came to class late or looked terribly beat up, she didn't ask too many questions. All in all, it worked nicely between them.

That is, until Peter Parker had donned his Spider-Man suit and set about patrolling the city as per usual routine, still searching for his uncle's killer, but once again came across the girl from his science class.

"You again?" He asked her after taking out two armed robbers at the supermarket where they had their last exchange, amusement showing through his tone. "Didn't you learn last time that you shouldn't be going out into the shady parts of town after dark?" And she had the nerve to give him a cheeky look!

"What can I say?" She sassed, "I live on the edge." His eyes swept over the scene before him and he couldn't help but chuckle at the trouble he'd found her in. She shrugged at him and grinned, "I can take care of myself." Behind the mask, Peter's eyebrows raised, entertained by her antics. Oh sure, of course she could. After all, it wasn't like she'd been forced down on the ground during the stick-up or anything. But when he said as much, she only scowled at him. "Would you please just untie me?"

He snickered and kneeled in front of her, making a show of tapping his chin as though he were considering her request. "I dunno, miss, if I left you like this, you'd probably be a lot safer." The girl struggled on the floor, trying to free herself from the binding that the robbers (who were thankfully reluctant to hurt anyone) had her held in. But it was to no avail. With her hands behind her back, the most she could do was rock back and forth and curse when her escape attempt was clearly foiled. Peter watched her, unable to suppress the snickers at her expense. "Having fun?"

"Shut up!" She snapped, face beet red from embarrassment. Peter was beginning to think that red was a nice color on her. "Do you get off on watching girls struggle or something?"

"Maybe I'm just waiting for a thank you." Ha! That did it! Her face grew redder and if it wasn't for his brilliant hearing, he might not have heard her thank him. "Don't start making this a habit," he warned, leaning over the girl's shoulder to untie her. She shuddered and they brushed against one another just a tad. Peter pulled away from her after she was freed and the two of them stood together in an awkward silence, apparently finished with the witty banter. While he rubbed the back of his neck, she shifted her feet beneath her.

"So-"

"I-"

Both of them laughed when they realized they'd started speaking at the same time. "You go," he said. Her mouth opened and closed as though she didn't know just quite what to say, and instead she leaned in close to press her lips to his masked cheek.

"Thanks for saving me. Again." Clearly embarrassed, she turned away from him and made her way to the supermarket's exit. "Oh! And, uh, don't forget to free the clerk. Behind the counter." Peter looked away from her and behind the counter, seeing the clerk tied up just as she'd said. When he looked back to thank her, the door was already swinging closed. He shook his head with a laugh and hopped over the counter to make quick work of the clerk's bindings.

"Hey, Spider-Man, next time you save someone, maybe try flirting a little less."

* * *

She called him up out of the blue the next night. "Wanna do something different?" Out of curiosity, he accepted her invitation. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't surprised by the result of their outing.

Peter met her in an abandoned alley between both their residences just like she'd asked. He was honestly shocked that the girl hadn't ended up on the wrong side of a mugger with a weapon again. "Haven't you been getting into enough trouble lately?" She rolled her eyes at him and pushed something into his hands.

"Look who's talking, black-eye," she teased, and subconsciously he touched the sore skin around his eye.

He looked down at what he was now holding and furrowed his brows in confusion. "What's with the paint?"

She just smirked at Peter in response and ran ahead of him towards the alley wall, beginning to mark the building with spray paint. "We're giving Spider-Man some support!" She laughed, and it sounded like a cross between manic and cheerful. He observed her with delight for a little bit before she made a request for his assistance. "Don't just stand there, Peter! Give me a boost!" She was obviously struggling to reach the higher parts of the building, so he approached her from behind and lifted her up on his shoulders. "Whoa!" She exclaimed, impressed with his strength. "You've really been working out, haven't you?"

He would have shrugged if he could, but instead he just held on to her legs. "C'mon, make it quick before we get caught."

"Yeah, but isn't that what makes this so exciting?" She grinned up at the unmarked parts of the wall and began tagging it with colorful limbs and lettering. Peter was beginning to think it looked familiar.

"Have you done this before?"

"Maybe." She switched off with the colors, pure joy dripping off her words like the paint on the walls. "It depends." It didn't take her much longer to finish, and when he did, he stepped back, still holding the girl up. Oh, it definitely looked familiar. He was certain that he'd seen something like it when he was making his rounds in the city. It was a red spider, very similar to the one he wore on his chest as Spider-Man. His body felt warm as he read the lettering around the spider: Thank you, Spider-Man. Peter had to swallow thickly, feeling almost overwhelmed. "What do you think?"

"I'm sure Spider-Man'd love it."

* * *

Another night, Peter caught her in the act. Dressed in full Spider-Man attire, he almost swung passed the girl, but the familiar sound of spray paint caught his ear and he had to double back. After all, there was a pretty good chance if he left her alone, she'd probably end up in another dangerous situation.

He approached her from behind, slowly as to not tip her off to his arrival. He stood and, once again, studied her, something he caught himself doing quite often these days. There was something about her that he just found himself inexplicably drawn to and he really couldn't begin to explain it.

She wasn't just tagging his symbol this time. In fact, what she was working on looked more like a mural with a lot of time and effort invested in it. It looked like she'd been working on it for quite a few days. Peter was surprised no one had started drawing over it in the time between. With a closer look, he noticed that the silhouette she was painting was actually him, swinging into action on a web. His chest felt tight.

Peter cleared his throat to get her attention and laughed when the girl almost fell over herself and dropped her spray cans. She froze for a moment before slowly turning to face him, probably worried that a cop had caught her tagging the building. Relief was written all over her face and she said, "Oh thank god, it's just you."

"Just me? What's that supposed to mean?" He teased, arms crossed and hip cocked. He had a feeling that her face was growing red again because she turned around and bent down to pick up the paint she'd dropped, deliberately facing away from him. When she didn't answer, he spoke up again. "You know, you've captured me really well. Except I think my butt-cheeks are a lot more firm." With that, he could hear her spluttering, probably unable to come up with an appropriate reaction.

He was wrong.

She pulled herself up and turned to look at him, face screwed up in a thoughtful expression. The girl approached him, slowly circling him and looking him up and down. "Hmm," she hummed when she stopped behind him. Peter looked over his shoulder at her, curious, just in time to see her reach forward and grab his ass with both hands. He yelped in response, but she continued speaking. "I dunno whose evaluation you got, but I think you're just blowin' smoke."

"Hey! Watch it! You'll damage the goods!" She scoffed in response and shook her head in disbelief. He spun around and grabbed her hands in his own, pulling her up against his body. "You know, you should really take me more seriously. A nice girl like you could really get hurt. It's dangerous out here."

She couldn't pull her hands away from him, so she settled on resting her palms against his chest. The girl seemed impressed, and Peter felt himself swelling with pride. It was weird. She was just a regular girl. "I told you, I can handle myself." She looked up at him, an awed grin on her face. "But you always keep showing up anyway, so do I really have much to worry about?" He didn't know what to say, how to answer, so she kept talking. "Can I kiss you?"

Peter was stunned by the turn of events. She was always surprising him. It was crazy how this girl had come out of nowhere and suddenly she was everywhere. He was only just realizing how badly he wanted to kiss her since their first meeting. Before he knew it, he found himself leaning in to kiss her, wondering why the girl was giggling.

"Your mask is still on," she murmured, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. "But I'll take it." She leaned in to meet him, masked face and all, but he was already pulling the mask up just above his lips. With her hands freed, she reached for his face, brushing her paint-stained fingers against his lips. His face broke out into a goofy grin and suddenly they were both leaning back in, almost as awkward as their first real conversation.

It began as a gentle brush of their lips, then another and another. The two went in for one more before it became more than just a soft kiss and instead was a rough tangle of lips and limbs. They stayed that way until there was a cry for help from some part of the city and Spider-Man had to be off on his way. He had a feeling she understood.

* * *

She had the stupidest grin on her face in class the next day. Peter was pretty sure she wasn't hearing anything anyone was telling her, too lost in her own thoughts. Well, to be fair, he was pretty zoned out himself. What a night. He could feel the same goofy grin from the previous night creeping onto his face.

He caught her staring at him after a little while, though. They met up after class in the hallway and, feigning ignorance, he asked her what was up.

"That smile..." She grew quiet for a minute and when he tried to move away, she just surprised him by pressing him into a row of lockers. "You-!" She began jabbing at his chest with her index finger, a shocked expression on his face. "I can't believe it, it's-!"

He had to give her props for figuring it out without much prodding from him. But on the other hand, he hadn't realized just how he'd given it away. He cut off her rambling by pressing a kiss to her lips that she'd quickly responded to, although she pulled away just as quick. "You are SO not off the hook. This whole time-!"

"Just shut up and let me kiss you."

Well. At least she listened this time.

* * *

Author's Note: The end? Maybe? We'll see.


End file.
